


W is for Wynne Theirin

by OtakuElf



Series: YADAA (Yet Another Dragon Age Alphabet) [23]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Family, Gen, Kinloch Hold, Mages, Magic, Mothers and Daughters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-30
Updated: 2016-01-30
Packaged: 2018-05-17 05:11:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5855422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OtakuElf/pseuds/OtakuElf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wynne, daughter to King Alistair and Queen Anora , and heir to the throne of Ferelden, discovers she has magic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	W is for Wynne Theirin

Wynne Theirin looked out over the roofs of Denerim for the last time. Perhaps forever. Tomorrow the templars would come and take her away and immure her in the tower. Immure, that was a good word. She’d have to remember it.

Sighing heavily, she threw herself down, her head on crossed arms atop the parapet. After tomorrow nothing nice would ever happen again. She’d had two years of training in being the heir. Two years. Her precise mind corrected that. She’d always been trained for the possibility that she could become queen. It was only the last two years that she had been expected to take on all of the duties that Gareth used to handle before he had been sent away to the tower. Yes, sent away worked much better than taken away. She could get a lot of sympathy with that.

Wynne had heard many things about the evils of the Chantry-infested Circle towers ("Andraste, please ignore that comment," she prayed silently). Tomorrow she would discover the truth of the rumors!

“Wynne, dear,” Anora Mac Tir Theirin Theirin’s voice came over the wind, “It’s time to come in now.”

“Yes, mother,” Wynne sighed heavily once more before pushing off the wall and walking in to her mother’s embrace. 

Queen Anora wrapped her heavy Fereldan wool cloak around her elder daughter. “You’re cold,” she murmured.

Shaking her golden-haired head, locks slipped out of her braid from the wind, the princess sighed, “Not really. You’re cold, so you think I must be.”

“Well, in that case, you must be sad, and worried, and feeling a little lonely,” Anora kept an arm around her daughter’s shoulder, making it difficult to walk down the wide, flat stairs leading to the royal quarters.

“Maybe,” admitted Wynne. Then after some quiet thought, “Will Gareth be at the Circle when I get there?”

“He had better be,” said her mother threateningly, before going on, “At last report that’s where he was. Zel is with him. So if you need anything, you go to Zel, alright? In any case, we sent a rider to tell your brother about," after a pregnant pause she continued, "well, about the magic.”

“Can I take one of the scouts with me? Gareth has Zel.” Wynne was trying not to sound sullen. Honestly, she was. But after all, how was one to sound when leaving the home one has known for so many long years to travel to the prison of the Circle?

They rounded the bottom of the steps and stepped into the hallway. “Zel,” Anora pointed out, “is with Gareth because they have been inseparable since Gareth was one. You don’t have that with any of the scouts.”

Wynne wondered, “If I’d have been born a twin, would you have sent my sibling with me?”

Anora sighed, “If you’d been a twin, my life would have been a good deal more hectic. You’d have had less attention. And your twin would probably have been a mage as well. So you’d both be going to the Circle for training.”

“Just for training, right, mother?” Wynne sought reassurance. “Not forever?”

“Dear heart. We don’t know what the future will bring. The Chantry has been causing some problems with how mages are handled in Ferelden. You know this. We’ve been over it with you. After what happened with your cousin Connor, we can’t keep you from training. It would not be safe.

“But you will be cared for. You’ll find new friends. Think of it as though we were sending you to be fostered. It’s much the same thing.” Anora was worn with repeating reassurances. She was worried. Heart sick even. But she knew they were doing the right thing. At least, merciful Maker, they were allowed to send trunks with Wynne. Unlike so many young children who had arrived at the Kinloch Hold Circle with only the clothes on their back.

“Will you have a staff when you come home next?” Her little sister, Moira wobbled against the wall where she was attempting to stand on her hands. 

“I will! And I will use it to poke you!”: Wynne teased.

Moira gave her an upside down grin. “I won’t mind. So long as you don’t set my bed on fire!” Moira referred to Gareth’s discovery that he had magic, when he had set Wynne’s bed alight during an argument.

Wynne stuck her nose in the air, “I promise not to be so clumsy!”

She’d forgotten that her mother was behind her. “Wynne, Gareth could have killed you. There are consequences for actions. Your fireball only did property damage. Gareth’s would have destroyed his life.”

That hurt. Wynne did have to admit it was true. After all, it would have destroyed her life as well - being dead and all. But then, if Gareth had killed her with magic, he would never have been right again. Wynne did love her brother. Gareth was just so irritating sometimes. He never gave Wynne credit for intelligence, or anything else. He treated her, well, like a baby. Wynne was not a baby.

She repeated that thought. “Mother, Gareth treats me like a baby. I’m not a baby. I can use Uncle Zevran’s knives as well as Gareth does.” Wynne sounded worried. “What if they all treat me that way because of Gareth?”

“Wynne, darling,” Anora drew her daughter into the common family area, and sat with her on the couch by the fire. “You do know that you will have to prove yourself at the tower? They will not just give you points for being the princess. If anything, that will work against you.

"Your father and I have decided to have you enrolled as Wynne Guerrin, instead of Theirin. this is what we did with Gareth.”

“But you visited him. At the Circle. Was no one suspicious?” Wynne asked.

Anora smiled, “Your father and I took on a rather low profile when we went to the Circle to see your brother. I was dressed as a scholar, and your father was in armor - plain plate - as my guard. We also arranged for Teyrn Cousland to inspect the tower at the same time. He attracted attention, drew it away from us.”

Wynne looked at her mother thoughtfully, “What did you have to promise him in return?”

“Ah,” Anora leaned against her daughter, “Long ago the teyrn and your father came to an alliance. There was no major concession made for this. This is why we make allies, darling. Well, I make allies. Your father makes friends.”

“Teyrn Cousland is one of father’s friends?” Wynne leaned into her mother.

Anora nodded. Wynne could feel it. “You know that Uncle Teagan is not actually related to us by blood?” Anora waited for a moment, then went on, “Just like Uncle Zevran. They are friends of your father’s. Uncle Teagan watched your father grow up. Uncle Zevran was sent to kill your father.”

“And the Hero of Ferelden?” Wynne asked. The children had met Theron Maheriel, but their mother was rarely present when he visited Denerim. It was just understood that their father was the Hero’s friend, and would take any chance to visit him.

“Yes,” Anora said slowly, as she always did when discussing the man who had killed her father, Wynne's grandfather. “The Hero is also one of your father’s friends. He and I have never gotten along, for all of that.”

“But they’re friends now?” Wynne said.

“Good friends,” acknowledged her mother, “but keep this in mind. Friendships among people of our rank are very rare. There will be people who claim friendship with you because of your parentage. They are not to be trusted fully. You will always have your family though. Keep hold of that. Gareth will be there for you. And you need to be there for him. Regardless of who approaches you with offers of friendship, if it will harm your brother, it will not be a good idea. If it will even annoy your brother, there may be a problem that you do not foresee. Do you understand?”

Wynne took time to digest that. “Mother, you and Uncle Zev are friends. But you are not friends with Fergus Cousland?”

Anora gave a deep breath, one that Wynne, leaning against her, could feel. “Wynne, darling, it is like my relationship with your Uncle Teagan. He and I like each other well enough. We both love your father. 

“I accept Fergus Cousland as an ally and an acquaintance. He likes your father. Your father likes him. He… your father… does not have many friends because of his position as king. He must choose carefully who is worth his trust. We’ve both discussed this with you. With all of you. I know you know all this, especially after overhearing that little brat of Bann Coerlis’. His granddaughter. Do you remember?”

“I know mother. I will be careful.” Wynne was subdued.

Anora hugged her tight. “I worry less about you than about Moira. Guard your back. Guard your brother, and Zelwyn.”

Wynne laughed, “Zel guards us.”

“Zelwyn is family. There may come a time when he will need your care. Don’t forget that, please.” Anora sniffed. “I didn’t mean to put a damper on your exciting trip.”

“Oh, mother. I do love you. I will miss you so much,” Wynne was sniffing as well now.

Anora, Queen of Ferelden, who had few friends, and only a slightly larger number of family that she loved, held tight to her little girl. Thinking only that she would not be a little girl for much longer.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a direct sequel to the story about Gareth.
> 
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/2777534


End file.
